Yo Soy Spartacus

Less “gladiator porn” than “porn with gladiators”.

I don’t do violence as easily as before Sue’s killing. Walking Dead was expired from the watchlist pretty much immediately. I tried Game of Thrones at one point, but couldn’t make it through the first episode without being sickened. Spartacus is an odd fit then, considering the constant brutality. If you try watching it though, it’s a joke. The violence and gore are gruesome, but it’s so splashy and comic-booky that real effort is required to take it seriously.

The first season was good, the second was better, three and four were strictly ok. After that first season the show was shaped by the illness and death of the lead. In some ways this worked out well- breaking the continuity to make the 2nd season a prequel added substance that would later support seasons 3 and 4. That second season was only 6 eps and in some ways more disturbing than the first (the killing of Tullius was a sick transposition of sex and murder), but it introduced Gannicus, who’s just fun to watch.

The re-casting of Spartacus is a tough call- it wasn’t just the actor that changed, but the writing. The new Spartacus talks and talks and talks, and by the time he finally dies you’re kinda glad to be done with the endless inspirational speeches. An unexpected gem from the last season is young Caesar himself. I don’t know if that was an elaboration or not; I hadn’t known that Julius Caesar was involved in the Spartacus story. But it works, and the actor gives a rogueish Captain Tiberius Kirk vibe to the role.

As I was last watching it though, I got to wondering about the image created by the show. Is it possible that depictions of classical slavery diminish the respect due to the more recently enslaved? Is it possible that that’s the Whitest thing I’ve ever said?

Because really, yes these are supposed to be slaves, just like Crowe’s Maximus. But these are slaves with a tremendous degree of agency – they shape their world, conquer their enemies, have ridiculous sex, and die glorious heroes. If the modern conception of slavery is informed by stories like these, than the modern conception will bear little relation to more modern reality. You could come away from the show with a general sense that slaves didn’t have it all that bad, a sense that would be poisonous if taken seriously about slaves generally. And it’s not like the American attention span is known for its depth or nuance. Then also there’s the distorted privilege of “citizens” as Romans were. The raw entitlement and demand for possession really isn’t so different from how assholes like Tucker Carlson or Sean Hannity inhabit their own citizenship.

I don’t necessarily buy into the notion that we’re re-creating the fall of the Roman Empire, but we’re certainly an impressionable audience.